Comparisons (Part 2): In the Woods
by PrincessGemma12
Summary: After their battle with Kraang Prime (and Lea's battle with the Shredder) the girls and their human-or mostly human-friends must regroup and heal at August's family farm up state. With no parental supervision to enforce expectations, and months of repressed emotions and festering worry under the surface, how will they cope? *Full summary inside.*
1. Considerations

For InkyTurtle (Melodistic). Inspired by Muted Victory by Reader115.

Alright, I promised this to be up weeks ago but I got a really bad cold and it set back my... EVERYTHING. So... here's the first chapter of the second part of Comparisons!

This was inspired by InkyTurtle's various genderbend aus on Tumblr, as well as "Muted Victory" over on Ao3.

* * *

There were few things that could truly shake Hamato Regina. Her elder sister being asleep for three weeks straight, without waking even when in heat, or to eat or use the toilet, was most certainly at the top of that list. It hadn't bothered her too much at first, being at August's family home while they regrouped and collected themselves had helped. It wasn't until the fourth day of Leandra's coma that the remaining team members began to really worry. August and Casey had never seen the turtles during the cold winter months. They didn't know what to think. They barely knew anything about their seasonal changes—that was a blunt and rather sleepy conversation, but the two "humans" needed to know if they were going to be providing for the four reptilians—let alone their more… personal needs when certain times rolled around. They were hardly prepared to handle the turtles that weren't comatose, even less so for the one that was!

Everyone knew that most of Lea's recovery would be spent sleeping in the warm water of the tub, that was certain… But no told her she'd be sleeping on the ancient bathroom floor for nearly a month, with only trips down to the kitchen for a quick snack when that time rolled around and some time on the porcelain throne right after. No one told Regina that, while she and her younger sisters sleepily shuffled about at the end of the week, her Fearless Leader would be comatose in a frickin' bathtub! Even after an hour and a half of shaking and yelling, all the poor turtle did was sleep.

"Hey, Gina."

The sleepy mutant turned to the washroom door behind her. "Hey, Case." she mumbled miserably.

Casey was wrapped up in aphgan, holding something that smelled… ooh, yummy…

"Aye," Regina whined, "gimme some of that, ya' selfish witch!" With renewed energy, and spite, she jumped to the threshold and snatched the cup of steaming goodness right out of her bestie's hands, inhaling a delicious puff of her favorite scent: ramen noodles—the beef flavored kind, not the chicken or shrimp crap. The hum she emitted was not unexpected to the human, though the way the brutish turtle was with salty foods was still amusing. Casey merely shook her head, a smile playing on her red lips.

"Anythin' new?" she asked, coming up behind the blonde.

"No." Gina stated resentfully. "Leanne hasn't moved an inch since we got here—least not while I've been awake… the cold doesn't help." the mutant twirled a forkful of noodles and gazed miserably at the leader while she ate. "I wish she would just wake up already."

"We all do, Gin." Casey plopped down beside the tub. "We just gotta try and keep it together, for everyone's sake." After a glance at the blonde's mournful eyes, she added, "Give Lea some time, she'll wake up when she's ready."

"Yeah," the kunoichi said around a mouthful, "I guess you're right."

Casey stayed with her friend until the cup was empty.

"Sorry fer stealin' your foo…" Regina yawned. "I haven't had 'n actual meal in days."

Casey took the cup and silverware from the green hands with a laugh, saying something along the lines of "no sweat" on her way out, though Regina wasn't sure if she'd heard correctly.

At the threshold, as her mutant bestie climbed back into her makeshift bed, Casey stopped to consider the teen for a moment—something she found herself doing a lot recently. There was an obvious fire in the reptile's electric eyes, always burning and always alive. However, the flame seemed more subdued than ever, seemed to be holding on by its little finger.

Every bit of Regina seemed to be dwindling now that she really thought about it. Her thighs, while always a thicker girl, were more squish than muscle; her arms were thinner, softer; her lower plastron bulged with the slightest of pudge. It was sad, to be honest, seeing the ever powerful Hamato Regina so out of shape, knowing how foreign her body must feel. The mutant hated being out of shape.

"Take a pic'ure; lasts lon'er."

Casey snapped her attention back to those green orbs. They looked softer when it was just the two of them. More inviting…

Before either of them knew it, the vigilante was hovering above her friend, their foreheads thumped together gently. Quiet words of comfort were shared and hands tangled in messy hair as they held each other.

"I love you…"

Casey blushed, though she wasn't sure why. "Aw… I love ya' too, Giny."

"Don' call me tha'!" Regina growled, shoving away the human.

"Gina, why—!"

"Just don't!" she snarled, hissing lowly.

Case stood up slowly, wiping the wetness off her cheeks. When had she started crying? It didn't matter.

"Ya' know, Regina," she began, "I get you miss Lea—believe me, I do—but I'm still here! I'm at least trying!"

"Casey," the turtle gaped, "I—"

"No!" the other exclaimed. "You need to make up your mind, Regina!" Casey turned, heading toward the door. "You need to make a choice."

* * *

It's a little short but I have other stuff I'm working on that'll be up on Ao3 pretty soon-honest!


	2. Flashbacks and Batteries

1

_"No! We gotta find Regina and Casey first!" she cried, angry tears welling behind her eyes._

_"We can find them _in the mech_!" Danny insisted, gesturing towards the tunnel behind her._

_She scoffed, "It's too _slow_!"_

_"_You're_ the one that's _too slow_!"_

_Too slow._

_"You're leading us into _disaster_!" the genius cried, red eyes flashing angrily._

_"I'm doing what _Okusan_ would _want us _to do!" she let the tears fall._

2

_"I'll lead them away!"_

3

Wake up.

_Wake up._

4

_"We must obtain the turtles for the one called 'Shredder'." the android said, its feet clanging loudly on the concrete._

_"_Shredder_?" she whispered, brow ridges furrowing._

5

_Shredder?_

6

_"_Fire_!"_

_"Oh no," she sighed._

7

_Arrows._

_Arrows?_

_Arrows._

8

_"Stop hiding behind your Foot Bots!" she screamed. "_Face me_, Shredder!"_

_"You are beneath me, turtle."_

9

_Turtle?_

_Turtle…_

_Turtle…_

_Turtles?_

10

_"Ah!"_

Splash.

_"_Now_," the woman at the top of the building said, "you may finish her."_

_"_Graah_!" her scream echoed through the courtyard. "_Ah!_"_

11

_"Lea!"_

12

_"You were right, Leanne."_

13

It had been three months since the invasion and things were finally settling down for the gang. Leandra was still comatose but her sisters could finally go more than three hours without needing a nap. Unfortunately, that also meant they needed to eat more. Which meant that August and Casey would need to take on more odd-jobs to keep the farm running. The aforementioned mutant didn't mind, it got him away from the weirdness of things…

Lately he'd begun to hear… _things_ at night. Really strange things that often vibrated his chest. Purs, almost, and grunting, coming from Dee's room. It was quite discerning but Mica always told him not to worry about it. Like he could _not_ worry! All he _did_ these days was worry over them! But even so, August couldn't find a single clue as to what was going on with the brown eyed reptile. She'd been _more_ than irritable the last several days and, while his other companions thought it funny, he was seriously concerned. It wasn't like Daniela to be so grumpy. Thus, he made the decision to address the matter (a terrible decision in hindsight, if he were to be quite honest).

"Hey, Danny?" he said, poking his head into her bedroom. The sight that greeted him was not expected.

Daniela laid against the headboard of her bed, legs splayed and a hand around her own tail. Her face was an off green-brown color and she was panting slightly, an odd purring sound rumbling out of her shaking chest.

Any other time, August would have shouted out an apology and slammed the door, promptly running to bang his head against a wall. Or a _rock_. But Dan was down to her wrist in blood and he couldn't just leave without making sure his (arguably _best_) friend was alright.

Averting his eyes and stepping into the room, August shut the door while the kunoichi shouted and scrambled to cover herself. Auggie took a deep breath and gathered his courage as he turned back to face her. Boy, did Danny look _furious_.

"Danny," he began, trying not to look at the blood-covered bottom of his favorite genius. "Are—are you okay?"

The purring finally stopped and the sedona irises glared at him. "What do _you _think?" she hissed venomously.

Taken aback, confusion and concern swarming in his eyes, the empath gaped at her, struggling for words. "Um…" he worked his jaw a few more times. "I _think_ you're hurt." he stated finally, quirking a red eyebrow and gesturing at her vaguely.

Tilting her head and drawing her legs up to her chest, Daniela evaluated her crush's friend's expression and tone. Realization dawned upon her and her gaze softened to understanding. "You don't know what's going on," she said gently, "do you?"

Though it wasn't truly a question and he knew this, August shook his head, blue eyes drifting down to the tiny appendage nestled between the olive thighs, barely visible in its hiding place. She shifted and a small patch of what seemed to be pink-ish/purple flesh was made visible as her tail wiggled and twitched before settling down again.

"_Auggie._" His eyes snapped back up to hers as she spoke. "When we were mutated, we were made much more mammalian." she explained. "Hence—" she flicked a lock of ebony out of her face—"and even—" she gestured flippantly at her curved upped plastron—"but we also got some other things…" she trailed off, seemingly hesitant to tell. "Well," she squeaked, "we have various…" the last word (or maybe two) was mumbled and unintelligible.

"What?"

Huffing flusteredly, she grumbled the word(s) again, though they weren't much more audible. She refused to look him in the eyes.

"What'd you say?" August gasped, not believing that he had, indeed, heard her correctly. There was just _no way_, after all, he'd heard her right! Right?

But he had, she confirmed with a spastic outburst, slamming her fists into the sheets beneath herself. _Heat_, she'd said. A mating season, sure, August could've wrapped his head around that but a… a… _heat cycle_? He just couldn't comprehend it!

Subsequently, he found himself staring at her rather stupidly, unable to fight or even acknowledge the darkening of his own cheeks. An idiotic, slightly wobbling _how_ was all he was able to muster.

"How what?" Daniela scooted back.

"How are you—" August gestured wildly at her—"you know, in _heat_?" he gasped. "How's that even _possible_?"

Fidgeting with her thumbs, the brain sucked in a deep breath. "The same humans do—their periods, I mean."

"But you're a turtle—"

"No duh, Sherlock."

"No!" August waved his hands in front of himself. "I mean…" he huffed out a frustrated sigh. "You're a turtle, okay?" She nodded, arching an eye ridge. "Turtles lay eggs, right?" She nodded again. "So, _why_ are going through a menstrual cycle?" he demanded.

"It's a little different for all of us…" she said numbly. "We call all of it heat, just for simplicity's sake. I go through a menstrual cycle like humans do, Regina makes eggs and breaks them back down to reabsorb, et cetera, et cetera." she explained, shrugging throughout. "That's a whole discussion in itself, honestly."

"Okay, okay—" August rubbed a hand down his face and pinched his eyes closed—"so, you're _not_ hurt?" he asked, exasperated.

This time, Daniela shook her head. "No, Auggie, I'm fine."

"Though," she sang as he was reaching for the doorknob. When he turned to her she was looking at something in her palm. "I'd be _a lot _better if my bestest friend Awesome Aug would run down to the store for me."

At the Kraang mutant's askance look, she added in a quite, hopeful "Please?" paired with her best puppy eyes.

"What is it that you need?" he asked slowly, tersely.

"Batteries?" she squeaked, cringing. "Or, I'd _like _some batteries." She offered the obviously-confused "human" her occupied hand, palm up.

Upon closer inspection, August discovered just what she was holding: a small pink vibrator barely the size of an egg and (what he assumed was) its controller, also pink, and attached by a thin, flat wire that reminded him of Regina's ear-buds.

Stammering like a love-struck middle schooler meeting their celebrity crush, Auggie nodded swiftly, though he'd regret it later. He knew he would, too. But hey, it couldn't be easy being in heat.

14

August spent most of the car—_van?_—ride thinking about Daniela, about _why_ exactly he was driving nearly an hour to the 24/7 minimart for _batteries _of all things! For all possible reasons!

"_How _do I get into these things?" he muttered bitterly to the empty vehicle. "_Batteries_…"

The teen continued to grumble through the drive, an occasional half-curse shooting for his friend at home. Or what was home for them now. Finally, after a small eternity, the psychic pulled up to the shop, turned off the ignition, shook himself awake once more, and jumped out of the van.

The bells above the door clanged loudly as he entered, making him cringe and start even though he knew they were there. He turned to the kind older lady at the counter.

"Hey, Cheryl," he yawned, covering his gaping mouth. "Got any batteries in stock?"

Striding up to the counter (which was really just a repurposed bar counter, repainted and patched-up), he conjured up a sleepy smile for the woman, whose pink-sticked lips grinned back.

"Yeah, we've got some over by the bread," the lips replied. "I don't know what kind you need but…" Her rough voice tapered off, her statement ending in a shrug.

Cheryl was a very kind woman, albeit a slight pushover at times. She'd recently entered her sixties but had all the energy of Casey when she was at her best of times. Unfortunately, Cheryl's sandy hair reminded the hockey player of her younger brother, causing her to avoid the woman as best she could. More unfortunate, this avoidance resulted in August being forced to distance himself also. Casey enjoyed driving more than he did and was stubborn when he tried to convince her of the trip.

Humming, August tried (and failed) to recall what kind of batteries Daniela had requested. Belatedly, he realized she _hadn't _specified but rather shooed him out of the room so that she could—

_Nope—not _thinking about _that_, _not at all_! Flustered, the ninja in training realized he was flushed… and stammering rather stupidly. _Lie_, his brain screamed. But he found himself unable to conjure anything believable. Besides… Lying to Cheryl felt a whole hell of a lot like lying to his mom.

"They're…" he trailed off hesitantly. "For a friend." _There_. That wasn't a lie. That was the dead honest truth! "I-I don't know what kind she needs." Picking at a scab on his arm, Auggie looked the woman in the eyes. She was gazing at him askance, suspicion clouding her grey eyes.

"Same girly you come in here with sometimes?" she asked, eyebrows raised. "Casey, I think her name is?"

It took him a moment to realize _why _Cheryl was suddenly so wary about him buying _batteries _for a _female friend_. The answer was in the way the lady looked him over. He suddenly had to wonder _how _blood was accumulating in _both _areas at the same time.

Head lowered, he turned to leave, seeing no point in the verbal battle he'd have to fight in order to make his purchase. He was rather humiliated anyway.

As he was exiting the minimart, he heard the shopkeep mutter a single word of disapproval for his generation. "Kids," she sighed, sounding equal parts exasperated and disappointed. It made the teen's getaway that much faster.

15

Upon re-entering his childhood home, August was met almost immediately with the strong, almost bitter scent of freshly brewed coffee. Knowing exactly who it was that brewed the cafein, he made his way into the brightly lit kitchen.

As expected, the olive colored kunoichi was there, steaming mug in hand and pouring over whatever it was she was pouring over at the table. She looked up expectantly, hopefully, as he entered.

"Did they, uh—" she fiddled with the strap of her tank-top—"not have any, or..?"

"Cheryl didn't like the way I blushed when I asked," he explained, pulling a chair out for himself before easing onto the decades-old seat. "She got… suspicious when I mentioned a _female _friend wanted them."

Face aflame, Daniela nodded her understanding.

…

…

"Alight!" Auggie said suddenly, slapping the tabletop. "I'm gonna get a few more hours of sleep," he declared hurriedly. "G'night." Jumping up from his chair, the ninja in training wasted no time retreating to his bedroom.

As he left, Regina entered, looking as disheveled as her younger. Making her way over to the quarter-full coffee pot, her own (empty) mug grasped, the blonde glanced askance at the resident genius. Pouring her cup, she sniffed the air derisively. She then fetched the sugar, sweetened up her drink and started back for the stairs. On her way out, Regina looked back to her sister. "You both reek of arousal." she stated, exiting the room.

Ascending the old, creaking stairs, she repressed a giggle as she heard her sister slamming (what Regina assumed was) her head against the table.


End file.
